Colonials set for magical trip

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published
7:00 pm EST, Monday, November 19, 2007

For the Colonials, researching their undefeated opponent in the national semifinals was only part of the agenda. WestConn (21-2-1) will face Wheaton College of Illinois (26-0-0) at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the second of two national semifinal games. Messiah (23-0-0) and The College of New Jersey (21-0-1) will play at 11 a.m. Friday. The winners will play for the national championship on Saturday at 2 p.m.

"Its all uncharted waters," said WestConn coach Joe Mingachos. "As a program and as a university, we never had to take care of this before. They gave us a packet and now we are scrambling to put everything into place."

With airlines showing limited availability in advance of Thanksgiving, WestConn and the NCAA were busy finalizing travel plans. WestConn will send 32 players, three coaches, trainers and athletic department staff members down to the Disney Wide World of Sport Complex in Orlando, Fla., with the goal of continuing a dream season.

"This is a great problem to have," said Athletic Director Ed Farrington. "The turnaround is so fast and the biggest difference with soccer and other sports is that the timing is bad. You have to be someplace by Wednesday or Thursday and the hard thing with Thanksgiving is that it is the most traveled holiday.

"No one could do it if they had to do it themselves," Farrington added. "The NCAA has arrangements with a travel agent for the flight and then you stay on the Disney property. Ultimately, what this is all about is the kids going down to Florida and playing a game."

While the athletic department staff focuses on making reservations, moving players, setting up practices and getting in touch with families, the coaching staff has no small detail in trying to figure out how to defeat a Wheaton College team with a 43-game winning streak

"Congratulations Western now you have Wheaton," joked Mingachos. "We are crashing their party. We are the only team with a loss that is there and maybe the only team that is there for the first time."

For their hard work, the Colonials draw the 2006 and 2004 Division III national champion. The Thunder, ranked No. 1 in multiple polls all season, hail from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. After a 22-0 regular season, Wheaton easily moved through their NCAA regionals, outscoring opponents 13-1 over three games.

Trying to find a weakness in the Wheaton team is a difficult task, since it hasn't lost a game since a 2-1 defeat to Augustana College of Illinois on Sept. 23, 2006. It is a scouting process that will take hours for the Colonial staff.

"It's real tough to get film so you go on their Web site and look for old video," said Mingachos. "You go and get all the numbers and stats that you can find before we get on the practice field tomorrow."

The other three teams remaining in the tournament are all undefeated and ranked in the top three nationally. That might intimidate a less-seasoned team. Not the Colonials.

"You have to take your opponent into account, but in the NCAA tournament, as proven by previous games, any team can beat another," said WestConn co-captain Kim Crayco. "Their record and accolades don't get into our head. We are going to play it one game at a time like we have done all season."

NOTES: All three games this weekend will be available on a Webcast. Log onto www.NCAAsports.com and find the link to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer National Championships...Over the years, several WestConn sports teams have played in their respective NCAA tournaments. Most recently, the men's basketball team made it to the NCAA Division III Elite 8 in 1990, and the softball team advanced to the the NCAA Division III World Series in 2002.